To Salvage a Ruin
by That One Joint Account
Summary: After losing her parents in a fire and then her guardian, a lone merchant girl travels through Hyrule, meeting familiar faces and going on an adventure of her own. Rated T for possible future violence and gore.
1. Chapter 1

** Tempest Bound: I'm going to do it, guys. I'm going to do it!**

**BlueboxTimeParadox: Do what? You're going to do **_**what?**_

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_My Inner Life_

Thank you for reading my story. As you know—***record scratch***

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** Tempest Bound: ...You didn't really think I'd do that to you guys, did you? I'm hurt, really, I am. That wouldn't be horrible—it'd be **_**inhumane**_**. Which is why I, you know, read it. _*shudders*_**

** Anyway, what I'm actually serving up is...quite related. What do I mean by that? Well, I think you'll understand by the end of this chapter.**

** I mean, prologue.**

** Thing.**

** Whatever.**

** Enjoy! (Or not, 'cause, you know, it's your choice in the end).**

**BlueboxTimeParadox: **_**My Inner Life? **_**You told me your kind doesn't speak of that tale. Is it **_**that **_**bad? I hope not. That scared me a little. Nice touch with the record scratch, by the way.**

** Tempest Bound: Shush.**

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_To Salvage a Ruin_

It all ends in fire.

Or what I can remember, at least. Are they even memories? Sometime I'm sure they're just dreams, nightmares, really, but of course it wouldn't be so...easy.

The screams are horrible. I'm screaming, too, in the half-remembered dreams, or maybe I'm crying, which would make more sense. I mean, I was only, what, three? Four? I must have been older, because I remember those screams. And the fire. Can't forget the fire—at least, I can't.

It's a wonder no one found me sooner, what with all the screaming and crying I was doing. Maybe they couldn't hear me over the roar of the flames, because when someone _did_ find me, I was ash-covered and—they try to tell me this isn't true, but it's one of the only things I remember clearly—blood-splattered. All that red, red blood.

The red, red blood of my parents.

Mom couldn't put out the fire—I remember that, too, even though she always could. She once saved a too dry forest that had had the misfortune of being struck by lightning. A few warbling notes, that's all it took. She would sing and then there'd be rain, just like that. Was it Dad that said it was as if she had magic smoked into her throat? Must have been, because I don't think anyone else knew besides us three and the forest.

Dad was angry, too, angry with the fire, or I thought so, in my tiny child-head. He could've been angry with me; I can't remember.

And then, quite literally, everything goes up in smoke.

* * *

Not all my memories are so fiery. I've had good and nice ones, just like everyone else, but none involve my parents—my birth parents, rather. The woman who found me took me to an orphanage after seeing the bones, and there I stayed until I was old enough.

I was adopted by a merchant, a man by the name of Shae who was getting on in years, who I worked for as soon as I was able, and who needed help with unloading and beating off thieves.

I didn't learn about the second part until it was too late to say 'no'. By then, there was a man on horseback right behind our wagon, drawing his sword. Old man Shae pulled out his own weapon, but it was obvious he wouldn't be able to do much. I threw a rock and surprisingly, it hit the man hard enough—or in the right place—that it scared the horse and he spilled onto the dirt road.

Old man Shae was kind enough to give me a bow for the next time, though.

The old man had also, apparently, developed a reputation because, while he didn't sell wondrous or extravagant merchandise, he was honest and always gave you a good price. I wasn't completely unaware of this fact, even if I was always stuck in the back, firing arrow after arrow into a ruined piece of wood I found on the side of the road when I was fifteen.

One of my favorite memories, though, has to be when I was twelve and still getting used to traveling so much. I was green in the face after eating something I shouldn't have had the previous night at the inn, and I had to stand by the money box while the old man went to answer nature's call.

I was thinking about how great—and by great, I mean somewhere between feeling relieved and feeling disgusted—it would be throw up right then when chattering from up the road caught my attention. The crowd was swelling and talking, shrinking back suddenly as if to avoid touching someone.

And from the midst of the sea of bodies walked a girl my age, followed by at least five fully-armed soldiers. Everyone was bowing and the girl continued to walk, smiling at people and greeting others. I didn't know what was going on.

The girl obviously could tell. She stopped directly in front of me, the stall's table between us. "Hello," she said, smiling sweetly.

I managed a stuttered response.

"My name's Zelda. What's yours?"

"A-Ara," I said, then added hastily, "miss," because I didn't know who this girl was and I had to cover all my bases, at least.

"Nice to meet you, Ara," Zelda said. "I hope to see you again!"

Not entirely sure of what the appropriate response would be, I replied, "Can't wait!"

She just smiled and, with the train of soldiers following, she continued down the street. I don't know why she didn't say anything about how rude I was being. She could.

She's the princess, so of course she could.

When Old man Shae got back, though, I went running because the food finally decided to come back up. And I never had the chance to ask him about the girl.

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**BlueboxTimeParadox: So, humans, what do you think? Pretty interesting, eh? You can thank Ms. Tempest Bound for that one. Her writing never ceases to amaze me, and you're all lucky that she's representing you!**

**Tempest Bound: As you guys can probably guess, this will be co-written with Mr. BlueboxTimeParadox here. It's his turn next, actually. Can we get some encouragement, folks? Anyways, yes, this is a redo of sorts of the infamous **_**My Inner Life**_**. Ara is our replacement for Jenna, because Jenna isn't really a LoZ name, is it? Please do not kill me if you did not like it. I have future plans that require my ability to breathe, thank you.**

**BlueboxTimeParadox: You heard the lady! Don't kill her… yet! Like she said, I will be writing the next chapter, so make sure you're prepared!**


	2. Chapter 2

**BlueboxTimeParadox: Salutations! It is I, BlueboxTimeParadox! This will be my first attempt at writing a chapter for this story, and I do hope you all enjoy! Tempest tells me that writing this story will be a lot harder than writing normally is, but it can't be **_**that**_** hard, can it? Can it?!**

**Tempest Bound: It's not that that it will be necessarily **_**hard; **_**it's painful to have to reread parts of MIL, to say the least. Which, believe me, you'll have to do.**

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**Chapter 1 **

"_Ara, you don't want to sleep all day, do you?"_

The voice is that of a woman. It's familiar, but distant, echoing inside my head. I feel as if I've heard it before, but where? Do I know this voice?

"_Great job, Ara! I'm so proud of you!"_ Another voice, this one of a man.

Proud of me...what did I do? Did I impress this voice—whoever it belonged to—in any way? What would've I done to impress them? After all, I'm just a merchant girl. Nothing terribly special there.

Suddenly, images flash, barely long enough for me to recognize who is in the image: a man, a woman, and what I assume to be their child. I reach out to touch the image, to hold it, but it turns to dust on my fingertip. Another image flashes in its place—or, rather, a movie.

Red-orange flames light up the scene as the man and woman run, trying to escape the growing inferno. Their skin is burned and covered in soot, their eyes red and watery from all the smoke. Their clothes are in tatters from escaping fallen debris from the house.

"Baby, run!" the woman cries. "Please just _run!"_

And she does, but doesn't go far, waiting for her parents. She sits by the burning wood of her house and cries. Cries for her mother who can't find her, cries for her father who needs her, cries for herself. She is the cause of this calamity.

The child hears the screams and metal hissing. She watches the flames climb higher and higher, sparks flying and dying in the night sky. Then the screams stop.

The girl returns to and stays in the house even after it burns down, sitting in the ashes of her home. Two bodies, curled against each other, smolder and smoke in the remains of the fire. Their faces are unrecognizable with burns, but she knows.

"Mom? Mom, wake up! It's me, Ara!" the child says. Her voice is no more than a whisper, hiccupping with terrified tears. She can't even touch them. "Please, just wake up..."

She stays by their sides, as close as the smoke and stench will let her, whimpering. She doesn't realize that she is splattered with their blood, even as she lays there in the ruins of her home.

It's hours before anyone finds her. A woman is her saviour. My saviour.

"I've got you. You'll be fine, don't you worry," the woman said, but when she looks around, her soft smile melts. "I'm too late..." Then, as if steeling herself, she says emphatically, "You're safe now, honey. My name's Fayne."

"Fayne…" I whisper, half-asleep and delirious.

* * *

I open my eyes and lay there a while in my bed. Those images…Are they memories? I suppose logic would say yes, but I've experienced those images dreams, where logic is optional.

Regardless, I recognize the voices and people in the memory: my parents and I. Their final act of parental love was the thing that killed them.

Fayne couldn't support herself, much less a child. She brought me to an orphanage, where I spent next few years of my life. There I was adopted by a man named Shae. He took me in, raised me and helped me become the woman I am today

"Shae?" I call into the hallway. "Shae!" No reply, but of course there wouldn't be.

It all comes flooding back to me now: Shae had died two months ago on the way back from Castle Town. He left me his livelihood, and the home I grew up in.

The same house where he told me all the stories I could handle before falling asleep, head heavy with tales of Hyrule and all its people, like the Kokiri and Zora. I would dream of its legends, of the Princess I met when I was so young. Rumors came and went, but never anything substantial. Who could believe that a child, of all people, could save a kingdom, no matter how valiant?

We live—or, I should say, _I _live just outside the borders, on a secluded piece of land, because Shae never liked bustling towns too much. But that was years ago. Today, I whisper a small prayer to the Goddesses and thank them for having Shae adopt me and Fayne for finding me, as usual.

"Guess I better get ready now," I say to no one in particular. But usually there is someone to answer. "I have to be in Castle Town by noon."

I sigh as I pull on my boots. The trek will be quick on the wagon.

But I never realized how empty the house is, without Shae's laughter echoing through its walls, until now.

* * *

As I'm setting up my stall, I can't help but think of the dreams I had. I had been too scared to move, to run like my mother had told me to, and what did that do? My parents suffered for it. In my deep thought, I begin to pace in front of the table, and I'm thinking so hard that I don't notice where I'm going and bump into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" I say, torn from my thoughts.

"Oh, it's quite alright," a woman says.

I start when I realized who it was that I bumped into.

The Princess of Hyrule herself, Zelda.

Bowing as low as I can go, I apologize, "I'm so sorry, Your Highness! I should've paid more attention to where I was going!"

"My Lady," her guard begins, "how dare this woman disrespect you! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Alistair, and she didn't disrespect me," Zelda replies. Then, a little bemused, she asked me, "Have we met before?"

I blink. How would she even remember me? "If we have, Your Highness, I understand if you don't remember."

Realization dawns in her eyes, then, with a small smile, she says, "'My name's Zelda. What's yours?' Is that how we met? It was in Castle Town, wasn't it, when I was younger?"

My eyes widen. "Y-Yes, it was, Your Highness." I hastily bow again, remembering my manners. "I'm honored that you would remember someone as unimportant as me."

The Princess smiles triumphantly, "Ara, wasn't it?" She turns to her guard. "I know this woman. Be nice."

The guard—Alistair—straightens up. "You do? I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness," he says to her, bowing deeply. "Infinite apologizes to you as well, miss. A friend of the Princess is a friend of all the Royal Family. We've been on edge lately, but of course that doesn't excuse my rudeness."

"I… I see." I say, a bit bewildered and overwhelmed.

"Come," says Zelda. "Alistair, watch her goods while I return to the Castle."

Alistair starts to protest, "Your Highness—"

"Don't worry," Zelda says, quirking a smile. "I'll be able to protect Ara, I should think." She laughs when Alistair tries to say something. "Oh, it's just a joke, Alistair."

"M-me, Your Highness?" I say like an idiot. "I don't mean to contradict My Lady, but shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Zelda laughs at that, however, and replies, "It will be my pleasure."

I follow her. The people look at me with confusion and envy, as if to say, "Why does _she_ get to walk around with the Princess? What did she do?"

And I can't help but feel a bit out of place.

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**BlueboxTimeParadox: Well? It wasn't **_**too**_** bad, actually! I had a lot of fun writing this! I looked up and read the first chapter of **_**My Inner Life**_** today and… *shudders* it was awful. How could someone write something so bad? Word is, it was never completed, either! Thankfully, I don't have to write this alone, otherwise that'd be… *shudders* I can't even **_**begin**_** to think what that'd be. **

**That aside, I hope you enjoyed my writing, and don't be shy to put criticism on a review… or something. Next chapter is written by Miss Tempest, and as usual it'll be spectacular. **

**Tempest Bound: Oh, shush. You have no idea how many drafts I go through, how much I edit...**


	3. Chapter 3

The moment we walk through the gates, it strikes me how much I do not belong. I should be at my stall, selling my goods, and after a long day of grumpy men and sour women, I would return home, alone. Again. But I wouldn't be here.

The Princess leads me into the Castle, and again I feel curious gazes on my back. I duck my head and pick up my pace, stopping by Zelda's elbow.

"Your Highness," I start, "I really think that I should be heading back. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."

"Nonsense," she says, giving me a smile. We continue through the courtyard, which I assume leads into the main hall, but take a left instead of heading through the grand doors, down a separate path that winds around the side of the castle.

The path leads into another courtyard, this one perhaps reserved as a garden, with a wide expanse of grass and flowers between the stone walls of the castle. A small dais stands at the opposite side, in front of a window that looks into a hall with a thick carpet and marble floors. The Princess steps up, gathering her skirts as she goes, and peers through the window.

She throws me a glance over her shoulder, expression radiant. "Come here. I'd like to introduce you to someone."

"Your Highness, you surely have something of greater importance than keeping company with me," I say, but nonetheless join her, glad to be in comfortable boots and tunic and not a dress.

"I do," she says, looking back through the window.

"I don't mean to question Your Highness's choices, but shouldn't you be doing whatever that is at the moment?"

She smiles at me. "My nursemaid told me to go outside for the day. She said I'd been stressing myself too much."

"And Impa is correct, Princess."

The new voice nearly makes my heart beat free from my chest. I almost jump from my skin. But it's a man, behind us, sitting by the wall with his arms crossed.

The Princess has a hand to her chest and her face flushes indignantly. "Link! Your nearly gave me a heart attack!" she says, sighing slightly. "Dear Hylia, please don't do that ever again."

He laughs brightly, getting to his feet, and gives a bow more suited to the field than royal court. "My apologies, Princess." He gives me a curious look. "And you might be?"

I hurry a bow, which is stiff with embarrassment. "Ara. Pleasure to meet you."

"I wouldn't say cardiac arrest could be considered pleasurable," he laughs, walking up to the dais, stopping with one foot on the first step.

"No, I suppose not, sir," I mumble, blushing as I bow again.

"Oh, please don't call me that," he says, pulling a face. "Makes me feel old. Call me Link." Link turns his attention to the Princess, who had been watching us with a reserved smile. His eyes sparkle. "I see you're out and about, Princess."

She laughs after lowering her hand. "Yes, I suppose so." Her brow creases. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Oh," Link says, frowning slightly. "Am I being a nuisance? I'll just leave, Your Highness."

"You're not being a nuisance," the Princess says, lifting a hand as if to reach out and stop him. "I was just wondering if there had been a reason for your visit. Usually you're busy with training."

"And usually you're busy with the kingdom."

"But today I'm not."

He laughs. "So I've heard."

There's silence for a moment. The Princess frowns again. "So?"

Link's sort of staring absently at her face, and when she speaks, he shakes his head as if to shoo away thoughts. "What?"

"So why are you here?"

He blushes slightly. "Oh, right." He clears his throat. "It's nothing of importance, really; I just wanted to see you."

The Princess smiles. "Oh, thank you."

Link grins and turns to empty air, mouth open as if ready to say something, but then an expression of realization dawns in his eyes and his shoulders slump.

"What's wrong?" the Princess says, brow furrowing in concern.

"The...usual. I'm still not used to Navi not being here, I guess."

With a quiet laugh, the Princess says, "If you miss your partner so much, why not take Ara here as replacement?"

Of course she's joking; the tone of her voice is all that's needed to know. But my face flushes, hard, and I'm left staring down at the ground.

"Why not?"

I look up violently, eyes wide. I squeak, "What?"

"I mean, you seem good with a sword," Link says.

"Bow," I correct, adding, "Can't hold a sword to save my life."

"Right, bow," he says easily, "and how are you with blood?"

"Decent, I suppose," I say. "I don't faint, if that's what you're asking. Wait, what's happening?"

"Yes, I'm confused as well," Princess Zelda says. "I was joking, Link."

"Joke or not, it's good advice, don't you think?"

"You hardly know me," I remind him. "In fact, _Her Highness_ hardly knows me." Why would she even bring me here to begin with?

"I didn't know Navi when she became my partner. Besides, I'm in need of a partner, actually..."

The Princess says, "Is something wrong, Link?" She looks like she's dreading the answer.

Link pulls a face. "Well, I suppose, yes, there is. But I thought you'd—"

"I do," she says quickly. "I was just making certain. If it has anything to do with my dream..."

"A dream?" Link asks, eyes widening in what seems like fear. "When you sent me back, before I told you, you said you had a dream, of dark clouds gathering on Hyrule's horizon."

"That's what I saw," Princess Zelda says, brow furrowing. "Oh, Hylia, are we doomed to live this no matter what we do?"

"I'm confused," I say, and both jump a little, as if they had forgotten I was there to begin with. "What are you talking about, Your Highness?"

Link and the Princess exchange glances. "Should we tell her?" he asks, picking nervously at his gauntlet. The edge has been worn thin and threadbare, though at least the back is made of leather.

Princess Zelda frowns slightly. "You said you'd take her on as your partner, so shouldn't we?"

"I guess." He turns to me, expression grave. "When I was younger, I was called on by fate to save Hyrule. Her Highness had had a dream and told me about it when we met; it foretold that an evil man of the desert would come seeking a certain power."

"You wouldn't know about that power, right?" the Princess says. When I shake my head, she sighs. "I suppose you wouldn't. The Triforce is a highly guarded secret, usually kept to the Royal Family and legends."

"The Triforce?" I parrot back. "Isn't that all it is? Simply a legend?"

"No, it's very much real, Ara."

"But," Link continues, "when I defeated him, seven years after I was charged to do so, Her Highness sent me back to warn herself, her younger self, and here we are."

"You...did defeat him, right?" I say. His face twists a bit, and I quickly add, "I was asking because I was confused. Why is Her Highness having this dream if he's been defeated?"

"That, we don't know," the Princess says. "And so this is why Link will need your help, correct, Link?"

He nods. "I couldn't have done what I'd done without Navi, and now that she's gone—" He chokes here, stops a moment, looking furious with himself, before continuing, "I need help."

"Certainly there's someone else better than me," I protest. "I'm a merchant—I only know how to use a bow to protect my wares and I, that's it—"

"No," he insists, "you're better suited to this than anyone else I've met, I can tell."

"Her Highness would be more helpful than me, surely!"

The Princess shrugs. "I must stay here to help my father with the kingdom."

Desperately, feeling like I'm being choked, I splutter, "But why me?"

Link considers me for a few seconds before admitting, "I don't know why I think so, but I just _do._"

"You...won't accept anyone else, then?" I ask uncertainly.

"Well, of course you can refuse," he says, "but, yes, I doubt there'd be anyone else. I just...this might sound silly and like a flimsy reason, but I have this..._feeling._"

"Feelings haven't led us astray yet, Link," the Princess says. She looks at me. "So, will you?"

I give a jerking, halting nod, then force a laugh. "I suppose I have no choice, in the grand scheme of things."

Link grins for a moment. "So, then, how decent of a shot are you with a bow?" He points to a crate left near the entrance of the garden. "Can you shoot that from where you stand, at the very least?"

"I-I don't have it with me."

He nods, holds up a finger, and digs through a bag I hadn't realized he is holding. He pulls a bow from it, waving away my gaping stare with a hand, and gives it to me. "Now, try."

"That bag's not big enough—"

Link laughs and smiles, and I drop the subject, for now.

And I aim.

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**Tempest Bound: Dear **_**God, **_**that took much longer than I wanted it to. So sorry for the wait! Writer's block likes to strike at these times, sadly.**

**BlueBoxTimeParadox: **_**It doesn't seem like writer's block hit you, although I know for a fact it did. Am I the only one who can see this playing out in one of the games? *cough cough* Get on this, Nintendo! *cough cough* On another note, have any of our readers decided to venture into the abyss that is "My Inner Life"? I read more of the first chapter (apparently it's incredibly long) and it just gets worse and worse. Regardless, next chapter is written by yours truly, and I can't wait to give it to you.**_


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